Forgeries
by dramioneislife
Summary: Draco Malfoy finally found the opportunity to tell Hermione Granger that he loves her. Bit of a fluff.


When Draco woke up that morning, it felt just like any other day. He dressed and made ready to get to work, already feeling bored just thinking about what he was going to face at work today. The fireplace coughed him up at the Ministry, and he was brushing down his robes when a familiar, bushy, brown hair caught his peripheral vision. It was Hermione Granger.

His breath caught at the sight of her. It had been four years since the war and two years since she broke up with that git Ron Weasley, but he was still too chicken to tell her that he loved her. Yes, over-confident and arrogant Draco Malfoy just admitted that he was a chicken. But this was different. Whenever he sees even a glimpse of her, he just can't seem to stop his breath from catching or to keep his eyes from not following her every movement. And that made him nervous as hell. Draco Malfoy never gets the breath taken away from him. He takes the breath away from the women.

He blinked. She was gone. He sighed and tried to focus his attention on the boring job ahead. He took the lift to the Department of Mysteries where he was now working as an Unspeakable. It took a long time to gain anyone's trust, but when the wizards realized that the band of Death Eaters where gone for good, people made the time to speak to him. His parents stayed at home and socialized only rarely, preferring to live peacefully after the hectic life of being the Dark Lord's followers.

A woman's disembodied voice announced his floor and he stepped out with three other Unspeakables. They greeted each other politely and then went on to their assigned rooms, where they guarded, kept stock of, studied, and experimented on mysterious objects. Some were cursed and are therefore dangerous, and a few looked harmless but are unknown to the wizarding world, so they were also guarded.

Nobody really went down here much, so it was a surprise when one of the flying paper birds landed on his desk. He opened it and saw the familiar cursive of Hermione's handwriting. It told him to come to her office as fast as he can and that she'll be waiting. His eyebrows rose. What could she want from him? He shrugged and tucked the note in his pants and then headed to her office as fast as he could, just like the note said.

When he arrived, he was breathing faster than normal. He tried to control it even as he knocked on her door.

Warm, brown eyes were what he first saw when the door opened. She stared at him for a moment, frowning.

"Malfoy? What are you doing here?" She asked. Draco almost melted. She looked beautiful, a pencil stuck in her twisted hair to hold it up, and she was chewing her bottom lip. He fought the urge to lean down and kiss her right there and then.

"You sent me up here."

"I didn't." She said her voice certain. Her frown deepened, and a crease appeared on her forehead, between her eyebrows. His hand twitched to touch it. Draco frowned at himself. He really should stop being such a schoolgirl whenever he was near her.

"Yes, you sent me a note." He tried to inject some annoyance in his voice, but he couldn't seem to get it right. He was too wired up in her presence, too excited.

"Did I? Well. You should come in, let me see that note." She opened the door wider, and he stepped in, deliberately brushing up against her. She didn't seem to notice, but he saw her freeze for a moment before closing the door. He smiled internally.

"Here, you sent me this just a couple of minutes ago," Draco said, handing her the note.

She took the note and studied it carefully. Draco took the opportunity to study her, too. The light from the faux window was hitting her hair, throwing it in various shades of brown and copper. She was frowning as she studied the note, turning it this way and that. He admired that about her. How she always took things seriously, even the little ones. She looked up all of a sudden and caught him looking at her. He pretended to frown.

"Do you believe me now?"

"Well, it does look like my handwriting, but I can assure you, I didn't write this." She said, handing the note back to Draco.

"Yes, you did. It looks like your handwriting right there." He said, not taking it.

Hermione sighed and crossed her arms. "I told you, it does look like my handwriting, but I swear I did not write this. Besides, I have no reason to call you all the way up here."

"But it's signed! At the bottom, look, your name's there." He pointed, a little forcefully. He was getting confused at her denial.

"I know, I can see." Hermione huffed, still holding out the note to Draco. "But I told you, I didn't write this."

Draco took a step closer. "Yes, you did! Why won't you just admit it?" He asked, frustrated.

"Because I DID NOT WRITE IT!" Hermione yelled. She was almost crying from frustration, her bushy hair becoming even bushier, as if hit by electricity.

He looked at her for a moment longer, before his face cleared. He took a step back, and when Hermione looked, he had on his trademark smirk. "Aha," he uttered triumphantly.

"What?" She asked, shaking her head, confused at his rapid change of expression.

"I know why you're denying it," he said, his smirk getting wider. Hermione gaped at him, disbelief written all over her face. "You just wanted to have a reason to see me."

Hermione opened her mouth, closed it, and then opened it again. "What are you trying to say here, ferret?" She asked angrily.

"You said it yourself, you have no reason to call me up here, but-," Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but Draco held up his hand to silence her. "But, you wanted to really see me, so you concocted this plan about you sending me a note so I'd come see you and then deny that you actually sent that note so I'd stay here and argue with you about the whole thing!" He finished triumphantly.

Hermione stared at him flatly. "Are you seriously suggesting such a ridiculous thing, Malfoy?"

"But why not?" Draco asked, grinning mischievously and taking a step closer to her. Hermione backed up, her heart thudding loudly. "I'm good looking, and you don't look so half bad yourself."

Draco took another step closer to Hermione, backing her into her desk. His heart was pumping faster than usual and his palms were sweating from the nervousness of being so near her but he kept his cool façade in place. He placed his hands beside her on the top of the desk, effectively trapping her in his arms.

"Stop playing these games, Malfoy!" Hermione said angrily, placing her hands on his chest to push him away, but it was a weak attempt. Draco smirked.

"I don't think so, Hermione." He said, before finally leaning in and kissing her, capturing her bottom lip between his. He felt Hermione thump weakly against his chest, but he ignored her. She kept her mouth shut firmly, so he gently licked and sucked, cajoling her, and finally she opened her mouth with a whimper.

Draco placed his hands on her waist, pulling her closer to him, and Hermione circled her arms around his neck, pulling almost painfully at the hair at his nape. He smiled through the kiss, knowing it was her way of saying she was mad. He broke away and buried his face at the crook of her neck, inhaling deeply.

Hermione stared at the wall, confused at what just happened. She tried to break away from Draco's embrace, but he just tightened his arms around her. "I'm sorry," she heard him utter, his voice muffled. She frowned. What for?

Draco straightened to his full height and looked her in the eye. "I love you, Hermione Granger. I have had for a while now. When you broke up with that nitwit Weasel, I was ecstatic. But even after that, I still couldn't, wouldn't tell you how I felt. I'm not sorry for loving you, but I'm sorry for not telling you for four whole years."

For the second time that day, Hermione gaped at him, rendered speechless.

"I love you. And if you'll give me a chance, I want to prove to you that I really do. And even if you won't, I'll still show you the truth until you finally believe me."

Hermione opened her mouth but Draco cut her off. "And no, this isn't some prank, Granger. If it was, I wouldn't still be standing here."

Hermione couldn't believe what her ears were hearing but she didn't doubt it for a second. She placed her hands on Draco's cheeks and smiled. "I believe you. I'd like to give the two of us a chance, Malfoy, if my blood isn't too filthy for you." She said teasingly.

He laughed, an honest to goodness laugh. "I don't care about that, Granger, as long as you're with me." He leaned in to kiss her again and this one was longer and sweeter than the first.

It was Hermione who first broke the kiss. "Wait. I didn't send that note."

"Really? Then who did?" Draco asked, taking a lock of her hair and spinning it around his finger absentmindedly.

Hermione grinned mischievously. "Maybe…"

Draco looked at her and laughed. "Oh no. Don't. I was merely teasing you. Hey!"

But Hermione was already rattling off her own theory of why Draco pretended she sent it to him.

Much later, when Draco emerged from Hermione's office, he spotted Blaise leaning against the wall opposite.

"If you two are together, you should really thank me," Blaise said, smirking widely.

Draco stopped in his tracks. "You sent the note."

"Of course. You know, Muggles are really good at forgeries," he said, waving a small piece of paper with Hermione's handwriting on it.


End file.
